condition can make visibility zero. >> reporter: maine is expecting eight inches on the coast and more inland. in cape cod, cars are still buried in snow banks from the last storm. with gusty winds and high surf, there are more worries about coastal damage. on new york's long island, plows and salt trucks tried to keep up with rapidly changing conditions. connecticut towns waiting for federal disaster relief money from the last storm are seeing snow removal costs add up. >> we could ballpark it. we're tallying it up. i don't think anybody really knows. anywhere from $20,000 to $50,000 a day. >> reporter: the harsh arctic weather put florida farmer into disaster mode. as crops are threatened once again. the northeast is not alone. miserable conditions hit the great lakes, heavy lake-effect snow fell on northeast ohio. >> i was up in the middle of the night, it looked like a blizzard outside. >> reporter: and further west,

heavy snow and strong winds are causing problems from the rockies to the dakotas. as another nasty dose of winter hits the nation with spring still more than a month away. come on, spring. hurry up. that northeast storm is moving into canada. drivers can still expect blinding snow today. >> we get more from accuweather meteorologist jim dickey. >> good morning, rob and diana. well, a snowstorm is pulling away from maine here. but blizzard warnings remain in effect until 4:00 p.m. in some cases, from the bangor area eastward. the snow winding down, but we'll see blowing and drifting snow. it will still be dangerous out there. low visibilities. certainly cold here. across the northeast this morning, many spots in the single digits. 9 in syracuse. 12 your early morning temp as you step out the door in buffalo. the threat of severe weather in the lower mississippi valley late in the day. rob and diana, back to you. stay with us for "good morning america," sam champion will have the latest on the stormy weather and the deep freeze. now to a story breaking overnight.

the tragic death of country star mindy mccready. the troubled singer took her own life yesterday in arkansas. she had chart-topping talent, but personal problems derailed a promising career. here's abc's tahman bradley. >> reporter: authorities found the body of 37-year-old country singer mindy mccready on her front porch, the same place her boyfriend died last month of an apparent suicide. it appears she died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. ♪ heaven help me to be strong >> reporter: mccready, who soared to the top of the charts in mid-'90s. has, in recent years, received more attention for her troubled personal life than her singing. >> when there would be some kind of crisis or painful thing happen to me, it was ready available to go and drink too much. >> reporter: she struggled mightily with substance abuse, even appearing on "celebrity rehab be with dr. drew."

she also fought a lengthy and bitter battle with her own mother over custody of her son, xander. in 2007, her mother was appointed legal guardian of the boy after the singer was arrested for violating probation on a drug-related charge. mccready abducted the child and, despite a court order, refused to return him. >> i think that is part of the issue in florida is, was this really an abduction? in miss mccready's mind, it wasn't. but obviously, the court thinks differently. >> reporter: she said that while xander was in her mother's care, he was abused. the family denies the allegations. >> don't understand that mindy gets away with telling all these lies. >> reporter: shortly after her boyfriend's death last month, mccreed zi was ordered to enter rehab, and her two children were taken from her. now it looks like she's ended her own life. tahman bradley, abc news. >> thank you, tahman. we turn now to the vatican, where the pope will be behind closed doors this week for the traditional lenten prayer and

reflection. he blamed his poor health for his resignation. a new report details the pope's frailties. it says benedict's hearing has deteriorated. he appeared to have even gone blind in his left eye. his body is so thin, tailors had a hard time with his clothing. a reporter said he's never seen the pope so exhausted looking. there are new details about friday's meteor strike in central russia. scientists are confirming the first fragments of it have been located. they were found near a hole in a frozen lake where a bug chunk landed. some so-called meteor pieces, with no proof they're the real deal, have appeared on ebay. meanwhile, russian officials say more than half of the glass shattered by the mere yor's power has already been replaced. now to the immigration reform. republicans and democrats alike are predicting president obama would fail if he pushes forward with his own effort to overhaul the system. under the white house's plan, illegal immigrants would be able to get a green card in eight years. top republican lawmakers don't like that.

>> by giving advantage for those who cut in front of line for immigrant who is came here legally, not dealing with border security adequately, that tells us he's looking for a partisan advantage. >> the white house says the president would push his own plan only if lawmakers can't get the job done. it was another weekend of deadly violence in the chicago area. this scene, all too familiar. police tape where one woman was murdered, six others wounded by gun fire. this murder came just hours after her sister was on stage with president obama. he was in the windy city touting his gun control proposals. >> ironically enough. after chicago, the president headed to florida, where he had a golf date yesterday with tiger woods. they played at the exclusive club where mr. obama spent the weekend. no media coverage was allowed. it was the first time the president played with woods. he was overheard telling woods at one point that it's good to see him playing well again. you have to imagine, what did the president and tiger woods chat about on the links?

i would like to be a fly on that, putt, i guess. well coming up, prices going up on things you need, like gas and food. is there any relief in sight? and new developments in the murder investigation surrounding oscar pistorius. his girlfriend's mother breaking her silence. and a major distiller caves to extreme public pressure, reversing a controversial call.

and welcome back. the experts are scratching their heads over a gasoline mystery.

prices are still soaring, now at $3.71 gallon, an increase of 13 cents in the past week. and gas prices are usually low this time of year. the short answer is that oil prices are up and some blame speculation. but there's no clear answer as to why. beef prices are also going up, possibly as much as ten percent by this summer. american cattle herds are at the smallest in six decades because feed prices are up. mow the beef industry is worried its product may get too expensive. they're already seeing a drop in demand. airline fares are not going up, at least for now. delta raised prices last week. no other carrier went along, so delta rolled back the fare hike. analysts say the airlines are still worried about the economy and the effects of the american and u.s. airways big merger. a major distillery has heard your protests. maker's mark bourbon will not be rusie inine ining -- reducin

alcohol content. beginning this morning, bottles will be back to 90 proof. the company heard thousands of bourbon drinkers. >> glad they got my letters. glad they did. well done, fellas. the latest "diehard" movie lived well. opening as the top film at the weekend box office. "a good day to die hard" is the fifth installment in the bruce willis action series that, believer it or not, began in 1988, 25 years ago. and sweetly, it took in $25 million over the weekend. "identity thief" right behind at $23 million. and "safe haven" in third. with $21 million. yippee ki-ya once again for bruce willis. coming up next on this monday, the shocking slap. an airline passenger hitting the toddler next to him. now he's out of a job. and from kobe to king james, an all-star wrap-up from the nba. opinion [ male announcer ] how do you measure happiness?

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and now a look at your morning road conditions on this presidents' day. expect a slick commute in the pacific northwest. also some snow-covers roads from the dakotas to northern michigan. wet highways from detroit all the way to the gulf coast and some blowing snow across northern new england. >> if you're flying, airport delays are possible in new york, boston, minneapolis, chicago, detroit, st. louis, memphis, houston, and new orleans. and new this morning, a mother's anguish. we're hearing from the mother of reeva steenkamp for the first time since her model daughter was found dead back on valentine's day. >> june steenkamp wondering why her daughter had to die. allegedly at the hands of olympic hero oscar pistorius. her comments come as we learn of some potentially damaging evidence in this case. here's bazi kanani. >> reporter: an explosive report

in a major south african newspaper. the city press says multiple police sources say a bloody cricket bat found in the home after the shooting of his cover model girlfriend is a key piece of evidence, possibly used in an argument leading up to her fatal shooting. police officials refuse to comment on the new claim, appears just as pistoriuss' family is coming to his defense. >> i can promise you, with the knowledge i've got, he'll come up right. >> reporter: and now controversy over the premier of a reality show reeva steenkamp had recently taped. a special tribute, but under fire for being insensitive, krits adverti criticized for her last comments on the show. >> the way you grow up, not only the journey in the life, the way you grow up, makes an impact in a positive or negative way. >> reporter: some south africans have called for the series to be canceled. but the family wants her memory to live on on national tv. bazi kanani, abc news.

pretoria, south africa. >> we mentioned the interview her mother gave to the times of south africa. in addition to asking why her daughter had to die, june steenkamp says reeva loved like no one else could love. she called her the most beautiful person who ever lived. reeva steenkamp's funeral is tomorrow. we're learning more about the troubled background of newtown shooting adam lanza. he was diagnosed with a sensory disorder, was very shy, and liked to be touched only by his mother. as for the exposure to guns, friends say his mother, nancy, loved shooting simply because it helped her bond with her son. a fire has destroyed two homes on captiva island. by the time the island's only three firefighters arrived, the

first home was engulfed by flam flames. others came by boat. it took them five hours to put the flames out. a story that's angered many parents across the country. man charged with slapping a toddler, yes, slapping a toddler on an airline flight is now out of a job. joe hundley no longer is an employee of a company in idaho. he plans to plead not guilty to the charge. the toddler's mother says he was drunk and belligerent before using a racial slur and then slapped her child. race car driver danica patrick can look forward to more attention than usual this week. that's because she's the top qua qualifier for next sunday's daytona 500. she won the pole yesterday. with a top qualifying speed over 196 miles an hour. she's the first woman ever to qualify first on nascar's top circuit. and now for some hoops, including the defensive struggle known as the nba all-star game.

highlights from espn. welcome in to your "sportscenter" update. i'm chris hassel. sunday night, all-star night in houston. lebron james, leading the eastern conference all-stars. first quarter, dwyane wade, to james off the glass. second quarter, an l.a. connection. kobe bryant to blake griffin. west up, 69-65 at the break. fourth quarter, rejection! kobe on lebron. and kevin durant with a stuff. 2:00 left, chris paul taking over. 20 points, 15 assists. only the third player in all-star game history to do that. magic and isaiah, the other two. west wins, 143-138. paul the mvp. college hoops, number three, miami, 11-0 getting a battle from clemson. second half. score tied at 38-38. devin booker, dunk me. clemson up two with under 4:00 to go. then it's roper in transition.

a game-high 19. clemson up two, under 1:00 to play. kenny kaji for the lead. miami up one. clemson, a chance to win it. but the shot goes begging. miami holds on, 45-43, now 12-0 in the acc. and that's what happened on sunday. i'm chris hassel. have a great day. coming up next, "the pulse" this morning. funny stuff. "saturday night live" takes on marco rubio's now famous case of dry mouth. and the barbecue sauce bromance. a reunion you've got to see. a reunion you've good to see. [ female announcer ] going to sleep may be easy, but when you wake up in the middle of the night it can be frustrating. it's hard to turn off and go back to sleep. intermezzo is the first and only prescription sleep aid

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time to check "the pulse," the stories that people are talking about on this presidents' day monday. >> we remember this image from last week. republican rising star marco rubio gulping a quick drink while delivering the gop response to the state of the union address. >> well, now, rubio's raszed more than $100,000 by selling more than 3,000 whatter bottles for $25 a piece. that's an expensive little bottle of water. >> oh, yeah. >> rubio every inspired a "saturday night live" skit. in this spoof, he was invited to give the speech again. >> for much of human history -- for much of human history -- >> are you sure you don't want a little bit of water? >> i'm fine, i'm fine. for much of human history people

were trapped in -- where no one would -- >> i'm sorry. i'm sorry. it's so much worse when you don't have water. >> i need water! why did i have haul that cinnamon? >> yeah, why did you eat cinnamon? >> water. >> it's right here. can you not see? it's never that far away. it's right here. it's back where you were. >> oh, that's awesome. and proof this morning that former heavyweight champs sure know how to put on a show. this one in chicago, where evander holyfield was promoting his new barbecue sauce. >> that's when mike tyson showed up. the two have clearly put the ear-biting episode behind them. >> they look downright chummy.

look that. >> look at that cheesy smile. that's true love. >> oh, man, that's a great shot. here's your ear back. thank you, man. for some of you, your local news is coming up next. for everyone else, we'll be back with hollywood's preparations for oscar. the big night, now less than a week away. stay with us, everybody. with a machine. people what? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it? hello? hello?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello? ally bank. your money needs an ally. the intense ache made it hard to do the things that i wanted. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia -- thought to be the result of over-active nerves

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>> live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news. good morning on president's day on this holiday. we will find out what the weather is look. mike nicco? >> you probably noticed a few more clouds this morning. a look at live doppler 7 hd shows it is dry this morning. we will talk about what is going on and can you see the breeze from the ocean that will continue our cooling trend as we look at embarcardero. conditions are 46 in san

francisco. oakland is 49. san jose is 41. only 36 in novato and santa cruz is 43 and livermore is 39 degrees. today, well start off this morning with mostly clouds at 36 to 46. in the afternoon we will have a few pockets of sunshine and temperatures hacking around 51 at coast to 59 for bay and inland and in the evening hours the clouds return but it will be dry during the evening 46 to 53. i saw a lot of cars on the road. we talk to sue about the traffic. >> more than unusual for a holiday morning. the bay bridge show as few head lits headed into san francisco but no delays. everything is at the limit moving into the city. san mateo bridge is light with tail lights headed westbound making their way to foster city area. looking good here from the central valley at this hour it is looking good with somebodies

at the limit or slightly below to the altamont pass. >> traffic impact on this story, new this morning a south show intersection is closed after a fatal crash. police say the man who died tried to run officers over while fleeing in a stolen vehicle. we are live on blossom hill road. >> eastbound blossom hill road just opens up, but westbound blossom hill road is still closed and active scene. police are investigating what happened last night after 11:00 when an officer was making a traffic stop. an unrelated car started to drive toward the officer. he thinks that driver was trying to run him over. look at this map. it started at capital expressway on san jose. a driver in another car unrelated to the stop tried to

run over the police officer and he jumped out of the way and got in the patrol car and chased the driver. it went down 101 ended five miles away where we are. the driver may have been trying to get back on to 101 on an off-ramp going the wrong way. he ended up crashing down a hill and landing down on to monterey road below the blossom hill overpass. the driver was thrown from the car and pronounced dead. police caught two female juveniles as they tried to escape the car. officers are investigating whether drugs are alcohol were involved. during the investigation the officers found the car was stolen from san jose and anyone with information about the chase and the ensuing crash are urged to call san jose police. they could be eligible for a reward and can remain anonymous. >> it is